To all business owners and organizations of any size, attracting top talent to apply to your job openings has become harder and harder these past years hasn’t it?
We at MKS HR feel they are many factors and variables that are making it harder to fill your open job vacancies. At the end of the day, we are in a candidate driven market where a lot of the candidates organizations are looking to attract are already in full time permanent jobs; or job seekers value more than just their pay cheque. There is many more non-monetary things that job seekers are looking for and are demanding for (and are getting by the way) in today’s job market.
Gone are the days when an employer posts a job and they receive 100’s and 100’s of resumes to review, interviews are scheduled and conducted, next a hiring decision is made, and an offer of employment is made, accepted and voila, a role is filled.
Yes, employers still need to post their job openings, review the resumes, interview candidates, conduct reference checks, and make offers of employment. However, in 2020 all business owners (small and large) must do so many more things than before to attract those job seekers to apply to their jobs.
In past blogs we have touched on that with recruitment videos. Another tool business owners need to pull out of their recruitment toolbox is Career Pages.
This can be a career page on your company’s website, the career page through your Indeed account, the career section of your LinkedIn company page. In fact MKS HR highly recommends having all 3 at some point. Of course when you are an SME (small medium sized employer) we recommend that you start with one, get it looking AWESOME, and then create the next one.
First let’s explore why having a Career page on your website, Indeed or on LinkedIn is a crucial component of your recruitment strategy.
As of right now, millennials are the largest segment of the workforce-within the next 2 years they will make up 50% of the workforce in the U.S.
It’s common knowledge that job seekers today (especially the millennials but MKS HR feels it’s everybody) do their research on a company before they apply to a job vacancy. They will see your organization’s job posting, Google your company and then learn about you.
Yes, your website is a great resource to tell them what your company does, the customers it serves, but it’s very focused on your potential customers to engage with you. You want your potential employees to engage with your company based on the career opportunities you have. And what better place to showcase that then on your website.
In addition to your website, they will also look at reviews about your company-so what other employees (current or past) have to say about what it’s like to work there. These reviews come up on places like Glassdoor and even Indeed. On both Glassdoor & Indeed, employers can have a Career page, which again is where job seekers will check your company out before applying.
So what does your Career page need?
Here is checklist of the information that must be included in any of your Career pages:
- About Us – a brief snapshot of your company, what you do, the products/services you provide, location, number of employees, industry, social media links (examples LinkedIn company page, Facebook page, Instagram etc.)
- Why Work for you – this is the most important area on your Career page. The same way you hook your ideal clients to buy from you, you need to hook potential job seekers to learn more about why they would want to work for your company. This is where the rubber hits the road and where the better this section is, the more likely you will get top talent to apply to your jobs, but also get the right applicants to them. Here is an example of TD Bank’s Indeed Career page, specifically their “why join us” section. You will notice here the use of videos to send out the message of why someone would want to work for them
- Reviews – now on sites like Indeed & Glassdoor it can be challenging to manage the negative reviews that come out. However, there are times when you, the employer, can respond to those comments, and how you handle them will give your job seekers an inside look into the company. Now one thing you can do is ask your existing employees to review your company on sites like Indeed & Glassdoor-a great way to be an ambassador of your company!
- Job Openings – here you will want to have a list of current job openings, all hyperlinked to where candidates can directly apply. This HAS to be made easy for job applicants because if after reading your career site, a job seeker wants to work for you, and it’s not easy to apply to your job, then they will quickly move on. Think of it in the same way you make it very easy for clients to buy from you. That hyper link can take them to your ad on Indeed or another online job board where you have posted the role
Feeling a little overwhelmed about where to start for your company’s Career page? Look no further than here! MKS HR has created a template that can help you plan out your Career page on your website, Indeed, LinkedIn or Glassdoor.
Click here so you can access your free Guide to Setting up your Career page!
Still have some questions? Click here to Book a Discovery Call with MKS HR!